Tulips
by Chrissy Almasy
Summary: KIBBS Kate has a problem, generally known as Rule #12. And it'll be her job if Gibbs finds out.
1. Chapter 1

By far not my first fanfic, but it's my first NCIS fic which I thought could be posted without blowing the servers. This is chapter 1 of 4 of a completed story, so updates are guaranteed.

Pairing: Kibbs. Mutual attraction, but nothing X-rated.

Timing: Takes place between seasons 1 and 2.

Disclaimer: I don't own them (although I've got Gibbs on by birthday wishlist), and I'm not making any money writing about them.

* * *

It was a quiet day. Gibbs had Tony and her catch up on administrative duties, but she had a hard time concentrating. So when the boss had gone out for coffee, she sneaked down to Autopsy. Not for a case, not for evidence, but for her own peace of mind. Apart from tsunami of trivia, Ducky could also have very helpful insights sometimes.

So there she was. The steel-and-glass doors slid open and she strolled in, arms wrapped around her chest against the chill that always hung down here. At the far table, Dr Mallard was staring at bits and pieces of flesh displayed on the slab before him. On the other side of the table, Jimmy Palmer was fishing more pieces from a large vat.

"Hey, Ducky," she greeted the old ME as she approached him. "Still working on that meat puzzle?"

Dr Mallard looked up when he heard her and then turned to greet her. "Ah, Kate. Yes, well, as you can see, whoever did this isn't making it easy for me to piece the poor fellow together."

"Oh, so you know it's a man, then?"

"Hmm, I haven't got enough to be sure either way, but I can hardly call him 'it', now can I?"

She shrugged. "I suppose that would be a bit…harsh."

"Precisely. And he's met with enough harshness and cruelty already, I'd say." He turned back at the table and picked up one of the pieces for closer examination. "Aah, Mr Palmer? Evidence jar, if you please."

"Yes, doctor." Jimmy did as he was told and held the small jar up for the doctor to drop the piece in.

"Mr Palmer, bring this up to Abby for analysis," Ducky ordered his assistant. "There's a slight discolouration I can't place. Perhaps she can find something that can help us get a step closer to identifying the poor soul." He watched his assistant rushing up to forensics and then looked back at his visitor. "Is there anything I can do for you, Kate? You seem troubled."

She shrugged and leaned back against a clean table. "I don't know, Ducky. A lot has happened lately."

"Yes, indeed. All that hassle with Ari abducting you, on top of what happened before, down here." He nodded at the autopsy room as a whole. "I can imagine it's hard for you."

Kate nodded. "Yeah, I guess. But that's not what's bothering me, really. Now we've got a name, it's only a matter of time before Gibbs gives Ari his just dessert. No, I don't think I'm as worried about him as everyone thinks I should be."

Dr Mallard smiled at her. "In that case: what _is_ bothering you, Caitlin?"

"Oh, where to begin," she sighed. She took a moment to sift through the mud that was her thoughts, and then looked up at the ceiling. "I guess I'm falling for someone."

"Aha," Ducky grinned. "The oldest ailment. I could tell you dozens of stories on the subject, but frankly yours is currently the only one of interest. So who's the lucky man?"

Kate felt herself blushing. "It's not like that, really."

"Oh?"

"It's kind of one-sided thing."

"Unrequited love," Dr Mallard shook his finger at her. "My dear, what are you getting yourself into? You should know better. You're not Tony."

She laughed. "No I'm not, thank God!" Still she blushed slightly. "I can't help it, though. You see, I've met this guy a while ago. At first everything was normal. Friendly, but nothing special. But then I started to feel weird being around him, or worse, _not_ being around him."

"And does this gentleman know how you feel?"

"I hope not!" she exclaimed. "No, no, he shouldn't. There's no way it'd work out."

The way Ducky folded his arms told her he was really getting into this conversation. "Really? And why is that? A forbidden love, perhaps?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure. It's just…" she was getting nervous. Maybe telling someone about this wasn't a good idea. But she couldn't stop herself either. She just had to get it off her chest before she'd explode. "It's just that he's who he is and I am who I am."

"A mismatch of character?" the ME frowned. "I do hope it doesn't have anything to do with why you didn't stab Ari back then."

Her eyes flew open when she realised what he was implying. "No! Absolutely not! The guy I'm talking about is straight as an arrow. In every way of the word." She sagged a little. "No, it's more of an age issue, really."

Ducky pursed his lips. "Age issue? Is he that much younger?"

She shook her head. "No, older actually. No idea by how much, but I think he's definitely old enough to be my father."

"Is that so wrong?"

"Yes! No! God, I don't know..." She pulled her fingers roughly through her hair. "Hell, if Tony ever gets wind of this…"

"Not from me, I promise." Ducky tried to catch her averted eyes. "So what about this gentleman is troubling you so much? Surely you're mature enough to realise age isn't necessarily a problem in a relationship?"

After a few more moments of hiding, she finally looked at him and sighed. "I know it isn't. It's just something I keep telling myself is a legitimate reason to push it away. If I'd be honest, I'd have to admit he makes me feel comforted. Safe and protected. It's a feeling no other man has ever given me. When I'm with him, I feel like I can take on the world. At first that was enough, but then I started to want to be with him, so I wouldn't lose that feeling. And now… Now I'm not sure if it's about that safe feeling anymore. I think that now it's just about him."

"Then why don't you tell him?"

She shook her head again, defeated. "No, Ducky. That's simply impossible."

"What's impossible?" a new, all too familiar voice suddenly asked over the hydraulic hiss of the opening doors.

Kate looked up in bewilderment, like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. Seeing Gibbs gaze at her with a genuinely interested look in his eyes, she felt a sudden rush of blood to her face that no doubt made her blush fiercely.

Gibbs frowned slightly. "Something wrong, Kate?"

Unable to hide the obvious despair on her face, she glanced at Ducky, who immediately connected the dots.

"Oh. Oh, my."

* * *

Let me know what you think! (I can take critisism, but please be aware that unfounded flames will be used for target practise )


	2. Chapter 2

By popular demand updated ahead of schedule. Enjoy!

* * *

The instant she saw Ducky realised what the situation was, Kate had bolted from Autopsy, sparing her baffled boss neither word nor glance. She could hear him call after her as she willed the elevator doors to open and swallow her.

As soon as she got inside the lift, she first rammed the 'shut' button before telling the contraption to take her to the third floor. Alone and boxed in for the ride, Kate berated herself. Running off like that had been instinct, but it wouldn't be long before Gibbs found her and demanded an explanation. And then what? What could she possibly tell him that wouldn't make him any more suspicious of her than her flight just now had already done?

The doors opened, admitting her to the office floor. To the bullpen. To McGee, and Tony… She hit the 'shut' button again and selected to go to Abby's lab this time. Their resident Goth girl was wise in the way of Gibbs. Perhaps she could help. Or at least cheer her up.

The instant she walked through the door of the forensics lab, Abby jumped up at her and hugged her like a long lost sister.

"KATE!! I missed you!" Abby yelled over the music, her pigtails dancing around her head. "I missed all of you! Is Gibbs keeping you guys cooped up there again?"

Kate smiled at the girl and nodded. "Administration all around. I needed a break," she elaborated when Abby turned the music to a more acceptable volume.

"So sweet of you to think of me. I was getting lonely down here. With no case to work on, I'm going nuts! I've got some tissue from Ducky's puzzle under the microscope, but it doesn't look like anything hinky. So I've got no challenge other than making funny faces with the facial reconstruction programme, and no Caf-Pow's to keep me awake either."

Kate looked puzzled. "If Gibbs doesn't get you any, why not get them yourself?"

"Ah, but that's not the same. Gibbs' Caf-Pow's are like a bribe, his personal way of saying 'get me some results' and 'good work, Abby' at the same time," she explained, lowering her voice to imitate Gibbs'. "I'm not gonna spoil that by getting my own."

"I thought Gibbs kissed you to tell you you did a good job?" She didn't want to sound so sour, but she couldn't help it either.

Abby smirked at her. "Only when I made him particularly happy..." Then the girl's face lit up with recognition. "Ah ah ah! You're not jealous, are you Kate?"

Feeling terribly like a schoolgirl, Kate shook her head. "No, no. Why would I?"

"Because you're blushing," Abby stated with a wide grin.

Kate gave her an indignant look. "No I'm not!"

"Girl, your face is as red as Rudolph's nose." The Goth looked very pleased with her observation. "And I can't blame you. Gibbs's hot!"

"E…excuse me?"

Abby shrugged and smiled. "Hey, if he wasn't so much like a father to me, I'd _seriously _dig him."

"Isn't he a bit…old for you?"

"You disappoint me, Kate! Really, age's got nothing to do with it. Personally, I think older guys are a lot more interesting than younger ones. Although McGee is kind of an exception to the rule…" She waggled her eyebrows.

Although still feeling a bit uneasy at the subject, Kate did see the opportunity that presented itself. "Yes, well, I'm sure the interest wouldn't be mutual anyway. If there was indeed any interest from my part."

"Sure there is! And why wouldn't he return it? You're a nice girl, pretty and smart. And you've got the balls to stand up to him. He likes that."

"And what about that mysterious redhead who picks him up sometimes?"

Abby shifted her weight a few times, biting her lip not to smirk. "I shouldn't be telling you, 'cause he likes to keep you guys guessing, buuuut…"

"But what?"

"But she's his cousin."

Now it was Kate's turn to raise her brows. "Cousin?"

"Well, he doesn't have any brothers or sisters, so she's the closest thing he's got to family. Apart from us, of course!"

Kate watched Abby practically bouncing around her lab in glee. The cheerful scientist waited for her to admit what she already suspected, what Ducky already knew. And what Gibbs would soon find out. She closed her eyes and in her mind, she could hear his deep voice across the bullpen: _"Rule number 12…"_

"Are you going to turn and run again?"

Kate jumped at least two feet when the voice in her mind whispered in her ear instead. Eyes wide, she first saw Abby's amused face before turning around and finding her boss standing right behind her.

"God, Gibbs, don't _ever_ do that again! You scared me half to death!"

"Pay attention, Kate. Always pay attention."

Embarrassment forgotten, she squinted her eyes at him. "You came al the way down here to tell me that?"

He took a sip from his coffee, thoroughly not impressed by her attempt to stare him down. "Nope," he finally answered. "I came down here to ask you what's up."

"Other than my hackles and my heart rate, you mean?"

The smile disappeared from his eyes. "You've been absentminded lately, and just now you all but ran for your life. It's not hard to imagine what's wrong, but I want to hear it from you."

"And what makes you think something's wrong?"

He sighed. "Like I said, you're not paying attention these days, and I need to know why."

She looked away now. "It's nothing important."

"Ari?"

"I said it's nothing important. Catching Ari is important. This isn't."

"It's important enough to keep your mind so preoccupied you forget to do some of the tasks I give you."

For a moment, she didn't know what to say. Her lack of response left an uncomfortable silence, which Abby took as her cue to "… go and get something from the cafeteria." Thus alone with the man she both loved and feared, Kate kept avoiding his eyes as she tried to think of something to say. She was sure her growing insecurity was evident to him, but she didn't know what to do to convince him to leave her be.

"It's… personal," she finally said. "It's nothing major, but, yes, it…I guess I gets me thinking a lot."

"Enough to make you lose concentration." His voice was surprisingly mellow.

When he said nothing else, she nodded in reply. "I suppose it has. I'll make sure it won't happen again," she answered decidedly. She made to walk past him, but he wouldn't budge.

"I can tell empty promises from the real deal, Kate," he told her, still not unkindly. "Now what's eating you?"

"Nothing. Just forget it."

He shook his head. "I can't help you if you don't tell me."

"It's nothing important, honestly," she pleaded. "But I can't tell you. You'd probably fire me if I did."

Gibbs frowned. "Why'd I do that? You're a good agent. I'd only kick you out if you endanger yourself or the team." His voice was slowly rising.

She looked away. "I won't endanger anyone, I promise. But I really can't tell you."

"And I can't let you keep a secret that's so obviously distracting you from your job."

"But that's…"

"Today it's just paperwork, Kate. But tomorrow it may be a fire fight, and I'll be damned if I see you shot because you can't concentrate due to some secret you claim isn't important enough to share!"

His ferocity surprised her as much as the words endeared her. But that really just made things worse. Gibbs cared, she knew that. He cared deeply for everyone on his team. Like Abby said, they were a family and he would protect them no matter what. But over the last year, she had seen the kind of toll that love took on him, and she couldn't bring herself to add to the weight already on his shoulders. After a few moments of hesitation, she slowly pulled her badge from her pocket.

"You'd better be damned sure about what you're going to do with that," Gibbs warned her when she played with the badge in her hands.

"If you stop asking, I promise you it won't get in the way of my work."

His jaw clenched. "You know that for your safety and that of the rest of the team, I can't do that."

"Then I resign."

Gibbs stared at the badge she held out to him as if it was a poisonous snake. After a few moments of silence, he glared at her and then resolutely turned away. "Go home, think it over," he ordered her as he made for the door. "If you still feel the same way in the morning, then so be it."

"It won't make any difference, Gibbs," she called after him. "If I don't tell, I resign. If I do tell, you'll fire me. Either way I lose!"

He turned on his heels and paced back. "At the rate you're going now, damn right you'll lose everything you built up here! Whatever your secret is, you'd better be damn sure it's worth it!"

"I'd rather resign than stay on and betray your trust doing so."

"What?!" He was angry, but genuinely confused as well. She bit her lip.

"I…I know you've set your rules for a reason," she finally stammered.

His expression changed from anger to realisation to disappointment and back to anger. "It's Tony, isn't it? You've got a thing for him!" His face told her he was silently cursing himself for not having noticed before.

"Tony's got nothing to do with it," she told him quickly. "Yes, we engage in juvenile arguments, but there never was -and never will be- any serious relationship between us. Other than work, of course."

Gibbs was truly losing his patience now. "Then who? McGee? Ducky?!"

"No, neither!"

"Then who is it? He must be really something if he's worth abandoning your team over!"

"Isn't it obvious?!" she cried over his tirade. "It's _you_!"

He stopped and stared at her in total disbelief. "…What?"

"Yes," she repeated, not stopping the tears now streaking her cheeks. "I broke the rules. I fell for you. And I fell hard."

"That…. That's just plain stupid!"

"Maybe it is, but that's how I feel. I'm not expecting anything in return. I never did. But… you wanted to know my secret, so here it is."

His anger visible dissipated as he tried to get his mind around what she was saying. "Damn it, Kate… You know my track record with women. Why throw away your career over someone like me?"

She shrugged and dried her face, feeling strangely calm now that it was all in the open. "It's not like I had a choice. Maybe it had different guises over time, but I think it was there from the moment I saw you. And it grew from there."

He didn't reply. Didn't know how to. Taking pity on him, she took the decision out of his hands. Stepping up to him, she took his hand in hers and placed her badge in his palm. Then she tiptoed and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for everything," she whispered before she turned around and quietly walked out the door.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews, people!

And a big thank you to alix33, who pointed out the typo's and errors in the first two chapters, and kindly agreed to beta the remaining two.

* * *

Kate found herself holding back more tears when she entered the bullpen a few minutes after pouring her heart out to her boss. She was happy to see that both Abby and Ducky were there, so she could say goodbye to them without running into Gibbs again. Obviously her colleagues had been talking about her, because the huddle hushed and stared at her the moment she walked up to them.

"And?" Abby was the first to say.

"I've resigned," she answered while starting to collect what few personal possessions she kept at her workplace and stuffing them into a spare plastic bag. Abby made a face of disappointment and started on saying something, but Tony cut her off.

"Wowowowow!" he blurted. "What you do mean, 'resigned'? You're not quitting, are you?"

She grimaced at him. "Sorry, Tony, but you'll have to find someone else to pester." Then she looked at McGee's shocked face. "I'm truly sorry for you, Tim, 'cause that someone will probably be you."

But for once Tony wasn't joking at all. "Forget that! What about you, Kate? You're leaving?! Why?!"

"I broke the rules, Tony. Especially the one Gibbs is most serious about."

"Number 9?"

She shook her head. "Heh, no. I always carry a knife." She hesitated for a moment, not sure if she should tell Tony more than he needed to know. Then again he'd hear about it soon enough. "No, I broke rule number 12," she admitted after a brief silence. "Over him, no less…"

"And he kicked you out because you…" Tony stopped abruptly as he remembered just what exactly rule number 12 entailed. "Oh. Wow. Uhm… I didn't figure you'd be the type to… Y'know…"

"You don't have to spell it out, Tony," she bit back as she closed her bag and grabbed her coat. "Everyone pretty much knows already anyway."

"Uhm… I don't?" McGee muttered uncertainly. It earned him Abby's elbow in his ribcage.

"Her hardware accessory wanted to plug and play the master computer, but the master computer threw up a firewall," the forensic scientist explained.

Kate couldn't help but smile at Abby's translation. "Actually," she offered by means of elaboration, "the firewall was already in place. This piece of hardware just removed herself from the system before the master computer fried her beyond repair."

They all looked at her, and then Ducky nodded. "That's perfectly clear, even for an old, pre-digital dinosaur like myself."

"Oh, you're no dinosaur, Ducky," she said, giving him a fierce hug. "I'll miss you, and your stories. I'll miss all of you." She hugged her friends and colleagues each in turn.

"So what happened to the two weeks' notice?" Tony asked meekly as he embraced her.

"I've got enough vacation due to cover two weeks. It's really not a good idea for me to stay on until then, not under these circumstances." She placed her cell phone and her handgun on Gibbs' desk. Then she turned and looked at all of them once more. "You've got my home number. Give me a ring some time, okay?"

They nodded in unison, and she gave them a sad smile. A final chorus of 'goodbye' and 'we'll miss you' from her friends sent her on her way.

* * *

From the back of the room, hidden in the shadows, Gibbs watched Kate's departure with mixed feelings. She was a good agent, a friend and an asset to his team he loathed to lose. However, his professional side told him her leaving was for the best considering her feelings. It would have made working with her impossible and unnecessarily dangerous. But still his chest constricted at the thought of never seeing her again.

His Kate… In the last year he'd come very close to losing her, more than once even. But he never could have guessed that in the end she'd walk out of her own accord.

"I didn't think you'd actually let her go, Jethro."

Gibbs looked up from his thoughts to find Ducky standing next to him, wearing a disapproving scowl on his face.

"Couldn't stop her," he defended himself. "It was her own decision."

The ME sighed. "Somehow I had expected you'd put some effort into pointing out the error of her choice."

"I did." At least in her choice of men.

"So now what?"

Gibbs shot him a glare. "Now nothing, Duck. She's gone."

"Oh, for Heaven's sake, don't be so stubborn! The only reason you didn't stop her is because finding out how she feels scares you!"

"You're on thin ice here, doc," Gibbs snarled in warning, his voice dangerously low.

But Dr. Mallard wasn't put off by his friend's gruff behaviour. "It was all a lot easier when you could tell yourself she'd never return the interest, wasn't it?"

Gibbs closed his eyes, trying to shut the world out, or at least get a bearing on his own thoughts. Ducky hit a sensitive spot. He could deny it, both to himself and to others, as he had for the past year. Or he could stop running and admit that he, too, was only human.

"How long have you suspected this?" he finally asked.

"About Kate? Not until she ran out of Autopsy this afternoon."

"No, about me."

"Ha! I've suspected your affections for Caitlin to be more than just friendly ever since you set eyes on her aboard Air Force One."

Had he been so easy to read all this time? He shook his head. "Damn it, Duck. Romance between agents never works!"

The older man nodded in compassionate understanding. "Possibly. But what we both know as well, is that we may set any rule we wish, but our hearts will always refuse to be bound by them."

Gibbs cursed under his breath at the truth in Ducky's words. No amount of resolve or painful past experiences had prevented him from falling in love and remarrying several times, not to mention the various short flings he'd had in between.

But Kate was different. For the last ten years, every other woman in his life - except perhaps for Abby and his cousin Mary – had wanted something from him, usually either money or sex, or both. Not Kate. She'd admitted to having a soft spot for him for over a year, but in that time she hadn't asked him for a single thing that didn't have anything to do with their jobs. He admired that about her. That and the fact she'd managed to fall for him despite his many faults. She could do better, though.

Lost in thought, he pulled her badge from his coat pocket and stared at it in silence.

"Go to her, Jethro," Ducky said softly. "And be honest with her. She deserves that."

"Kate's a good person, Duck. What she deserves is someone better than the likes of me."

The ME smirked. "Why don't you let _her_ be the judge of that, hmm?"


	4. Chapter 4

And the last chapter. Hope you like it!

* * *

It was a miracle she hadn't run her car into anything on the drive home. As she fumbled with her house key, she barely recalled any of the ride. She'd been in some sort of trance, and in a way still was.

She had resigned. She had turned in her badge. She wasn't an NCIS special agent anymore…

The finality of it hadn't really sunk in yet. She didn't want it to. Realising what she had done meant realising that she'd probably never see any of her now ex-colleagues again. Sure, they'd promised to call and maybe Abby or Tony would have a serious intention to, but she knew how these things went. Usually you never heard from each other again, not matter how close you had been.

Slamming the front door behind her, she tossed her handbag and the plastic bag full of other stuff from her desk into the nearest corner before staggering over to her coach and crashing there. She promised herself a full five minutes of uninterrupted crying, and then she'd collect herself and get on with her life. She had quit a nice job before, and she survived that, too.

…only back then there had been one Jethro Gibbs to pull her out of the hole she'd dug for herself…

True to her promise, though, she shook her head and dried her tears several minutes later. No use thinking about could-have's and should-have's. God knew there were plenty of both and none of them had ever done anyone any good. She was a big girl, and she could take care of herself.

"Yeah, that's right. I'll find something else ag..."

Her personal pep talk was interrupted by the doorbell. Frowning, she got up and walked to the front door. Who'd call on her when she was supposed to be at work? Surely no one could have found out about her resignation this quickly, could they? Lacking a peephole, she opened the door two inches and peered out.

"Hi."

Kate stared at the man on her doorstep. Half a dozen nasty remarks sprinted through her head, but none made it to her mouth. He was, in a way, still her boss.

And he'd come after her of his own accord. She knew better than to get her hopes up, but she also knew better than to slam the door on him now, literally or otherwise.

"This is…unexpected," she started.

Gibbs shrugged. "You left something of yours back at the office."

"Did I?" she replied in what she hoped was a casual tone of voice. "Oh, well, ehm, care to come in?"

He shrugged again, but didn't hesitate when she opened the door to let him in. She watched him stroll into her living room, using the fact that his back was turned to her to give her face an extra wipe with her hand. It was bad enough her eyes would still be puffy and red from crying; she didn't need visible tears to add insult to her already injured dignity.

She quickly lowered her hand when Gibbs turned to face her. She looked at him, waiting for him to start speaking. But he didn't. He just stared at her. Within moments, she straightened instinctively under this scrutinising gaze. A force of habit, she told herself, which had nothing to do with the slightly haunted look on his face.

"You… said I left something behind?" she said after a few minutes of silence.

He nodded, producing something from his pocket and holding it up to her. It was her badge.

"I never said I accepted your resignation," he told her decisively as he handed it back to her. "But I did tell you to think it over first."

"Yes, but…"

"It isn't a request, Kate."

She squared her shoulders. "Perhaps," she started, trying to keep her voice from trembling, "but since I already resigned, I'm in no position to take orders from you anymore."

His head tilted slightly in his usual 'you think?' attitude. "You're an NCIS agent until I say otherwise," he stated. "And right now I say you give this some serious thought before you do something you're apparently already regretting." He held the badge out to her once more.

Kate made a helpless gesture with both hands. "How can I _not_ resign after breaking the rule you're most adamant about? Heaven knows you told Tony often enough that romance between agents never works!"

"Passing infatuations are not the same as romance, Kate."

She gave him a long, incredulous look. "Is that what you think this is?" she asked. "Because I don't…"

"Shut up!"

She did, her argument dying in her throat. Surprised and a bit shocked by his sudden outburst, all she could do was stare, captured by the unusual myriad of emotions in his eyes.

"Listen to me, Kate," he said slowly, every word punctuated and piercing to get her full attention. "Infatuations are _not _the same as romance. Unlike romance, they come and go. And that means they need not get in the way of work." He eyed her sharply. "Do you understand?"

It took her confusion-numbed mind a few heartbeats to realise the implications behind the words, but when it caught on, it went into overdrive: Gibbs was offering her a way out. A way to keep her job despite today's royal mess. All she had to do was accept a change in denomination of what she felt for him. But she doubted things were so simple…

"Calling a rose a tulip doesn't take the thorns away, does it?" she inquired.

He nodded. "No it won't. But tulips don't get pruned, either."

Kate knew enough of gardening to catch his meaning. Staring at the badge he was still holding out to her, she quickly weighed her options. Which weren't all that many, really. She'd dug a hole for herself, and again it was Jethro Gibbs who pulled her out. If for no other reason, then she owed him for that not to walk out on him. And if she was honest with herself, she had hated the prospect of leaving behind the life and the people she'd come to love this last year.

With more pros than cons staring her in the face, she took the badge from his hand and reattached it to her belt. She couldn't help but notice his smile when she did. She loved that smile. Maybe she had to keep that to herself now, but at least she could continue enjoying it a while longer.

"So, does that mean you'll think it over?" he asked her, relief obvious on his face.

She shrugged with one shoulder, returning his smile. "I don't think I need to. I can live with tulips if you can."

"Oh, I can." The warm smile now reached his eyes. "I've lived with tulips ever since I met you."

* * *

There we are. All done.

I know a nice kiss might've been a more satisfying ending, but for a first-off I wanted to write something that would fit the canon, and as Gibbs probably knows from experience, one kiss leads to another and before you know it you're in Paris making out instead of doing your job, hehehe.

Please let me know what you think.


End file.
